Solar Panel edge deletion machine

ABSTRACT

A solar panel edge deletion machine includes a machine base, a feeding mechanism extending through the machine base for feeding a solar panel for treating, a positioning mechanism installed in the machine base for holding the fed solar panel in position, and a plurality of spray gun sets arranged in the machine base around the positioning mechanism for blasting sands to remove conducting film layers at edge regions of the solar panel and guiding the discharged sands and dust to an external place through air ducts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a solar panel edge deletion machine for removing conducting film layers at edge regions of solar panels and, more particularly, to such a solar panel edge deletion machine which facilitates even, accurate, and rapid removal of the film layers from the edge regions of the solar panels without a further cleaning procedure, assuring solar panel quality.

2. Description of the Related Art

A solar panel or photovoltaic module is a packaged interconnected assembly of a solar cell that can be used to generate and supply electricity in commercial and residential applications. A typical silicon solar panel includes a thin wafer, either single crystal design or multichip design, consisting of an ultra-thin layer of phosphorus-doped (N-type) silicon on a top of a thicker layer of a boron-doped (P-type) silicon. A surface of the solar panel is coated with an aluminum coating as a conducting film layer. The conducting film layer is distributed over the whole surface of the solar panel and done by means of electroplating. However, edge regions of the surface of the solar panel must be electrically insulated to facilitate normal circuit connection and frame mounting. Therefore, the conducting film layer at the edge regions of the surface of the solar panel must be cleaned. A sand-blasting mechanism may be used for removing the conducting film layer from the edge regions of the solar panel. By means of blasting sands to strike particular regions, the conducting film layer in the regions is removed. However, this conventional method of using the sand-blasting mechanism to remove the conducting film layer at the edge regions of the solar panel is still not satisfactory in function. Specifically, manually operating the sand-blasting mechanism to remove the conducting film layer from the edge regions of the solar panel is unstable, resulting in uneven surface finish. Further, when sands are driven out of the sand-blasting gun by a high pressure, discharged sands and detached conducting film layers will fly in all directions to obstruct the operator's vision, and the flying sands and dust will be adhered to the surface of the solar panel, adversely affecting the performance of the solar panel. Thus, a further cleaning procedure may be necessary.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, an objective of the present invention is to provide a solar panel edge deletion machine, which facilitates even, accurate and rapid removal of a conducting film layer at edge regions of a solar panel without a further cleaning procedure.

To achieve this and other objectives of the present invention, a solar panel edge deletion machine of the present invention includes a machine base, a feeding mechanism, a positioning mechanism, and a plurality of spray gun sets. The machine base includes front and rear ends thereof. The feeing mechanism extends through the front and rear ends of the machine base and includes a plurality of rollers rotatably mounted in the machine base and adapted for carrying a solar panel from the front end of the machine base to the rear end of the machine base.

The positioning mechanism is mounted in the machine base and includes a positioning frame and a plurality of air cylinders mounted around the positioning frame. A baffle rod is connected to a front end of each of the air cylinders for holding the solar panel fed into the machine base in position. The spray gun sets are mounted in the machine base and around the positioning frame of the positioning mechanism. Each of the spray gun sets includes a sliding rail, a sliding holder coupled to and movable along the sliding rail, a shield fastened to a distal end of the sliding holder and having an opening for receiving an edge region of the solar panel fed into the machine base, a spray gun suspending above the opening and controllable to spray sands toward the edge region of the solar panel, and an air duct connected to a rear end of the shield and adapted for guiding sands discharged by the spray gun and dust out of an inside space of the shield to an external place.

In a preferred form, the spray gun sets are mounted on peripheral inner walls of the machine base.

Preferably, the baffle rods are rotatable within 90 degrees by driving of the air cylinders to hold the solar panel fed into the machine base in position to be treated.

The present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of this invention described in connection with the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The illustrative embodiment may best be described by reference to the accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a solar panel edge deletion machine in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view, illustrating a structure of the solar panel edge deletion machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a spray gun set of the solar panel edge deletion machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the spray gun set of the solar panel edge deletion machine of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A solar panel edge deletion machine according to the preferred teachings of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 of the drawings and includes a machine base 10, a feeding mechanism 20, a positioning mechanism 30, and a plurality of spray gun sets 40 installed in the machine base 10.

The machine base 10 includes front and rear ends 12 and 13 and a housing 11 between the front and rear ends 12 and 13 of the machine base 10. The housing 11 has a sand-blasting chamber defined therein, and a viewport 14 is located on a lateral side of the housing 11 to facilitate visual inspection and maintenance.

The feeding mechanism 20 extends through the front and rear ends 12 and 13 of the machine base 10 and includes a plurality of rollers 21 that are equally spaced in a parallel manner and synchronously rotatable by a driving mechanism (not shown). A solar panel 50 to be treated can be placed on the rollers 21 and carried forwardly toward the rear end 13 of the machine base 10 by rotation of the rollers 21.

The positioning mechanism 30 is installed in the machine base 10 and includes a positioning frame 31 and a plurality of air cylinders 32 mounted around the positioning frame 31. In this embodiment, the air cylinders 32 include front air cylinders located at the front end of the positioning frame 31 and side air cylinders located at two opposite lateral sides of the positioning frame 31. A baffle rod 33 is connected to a front end of each air cylinder 32 and rotatable within 90 degrees by driving of the respective air cylinders 32. When one solar panel 50 is placed on the feeding mechanism 20 and carried forwardly to an inside of the machine base 10, the baffle rods 33 of air cylinders 32 are turned through 90 degrees to hold the fed solar panel 50 in a predetermined position (for example, at a center of the machine base 10). Furthermore, the baffle rods 33 of air cylinders 32 can be retracted to release the fed solar panel 50 and to allow the solar panel 50 to be further moved forwardly to the rear end 13 of the machine base 10.

In this embodiment, four spray gun sets 40 are mounted on peripheral inner walls of the machine base 10 and around the positioning frame 31 of the positioning mechanism 30. Each spray gun set 40 includes a sliding rail 41, a sliding holder 42 coupled to and movable along the sliding rail 41, a shield 43 fastened to a distal end of the sliding holder 42 and having an opening 44, a spray gun 45 suspending above the opening 44 and controllable to spray sands, and an air duct 46 connected to a rear end of the shield 43. When one solar panel 50 is carried forwardly to the inside of the machine base 10 by the feeding mechanism 20 and held in position by the positioning mechanism 30, edge regions of the solar panel 50 are inserted into the openings 44 of the shields 43 of the spray gun sets 40, and each spray gun 45 is controlled to spray sands toward one of the edge regions of the solar panel 50, thereby removing a surface conducting film layer at the edge regions of the solar panel 50 without disturbing a surrounding area. At the same time, an induced draft fan (not shown) is operated to draw air away from an inside space of the shield 43 of each of the spray gun sets 40 through the air ducts 46, thereby carrying sands and dust out of the inside space of the shield 43 of each of the spray gun sets 40 to an external dust collector and sand reclaim system (not shown). Further, the displacement of the sliding holder 42, the shield 43, and the spray gun 45 of each of the spray gun sets 40 can be programmably controlled by a computer. According the preferred embodiment shown, the spray gun sets 40 are sand-blasting gun sets, and the spray gun 45 of each spray gun set 40 is a sand-blasting gun. Alternatively, laser guns may be used to substitute for the sand-blasting guns and controlled to emit a laser beam for removing the conducting film layer at the edge regions of the solar panel 50.

In actual practice, the solar panel 50 to be treated is placed on the feeding mechanism 20 and then carried forwardly to the inside of the machine base 10 by the feeding mechanism 20. When the solar panel 50 reaches a predetermined position in the machine base 10, the baffle rods 33 of the air cylinders 32 are turned through 90 degrees to hold the fed solar panel 50 in position. Thereafter, the spray guns 45 of the spray gun sets 40 are controlled to move and to spray sands toward the edge regions of the solar panel 50, thereby removing the conducting film layer from the edge regions of the solar panel 50, and at the same time, the induced draft fan is operated to draw sands and dust out of the inside space of the shield 43 of each of the spray gun sets 40 to an external dust collector and sand reclaim system through the respective air ducts 46, avoiding flying of sands or dust in the machine base 10 and preventing contamination. Thus, the operator can visually check the edge deletion operation, assuring high and accurate performance. Further, because sands and dust are quickly carried away, no any further cleaning procedure is necessary, assuring the quality of the treated solar panel 50.

Thus since the invention disclosed herein may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or general characteristics thereof, some of which forms have been indicated, the embodiments described herein are to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is to be indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein. 

1. A solar panel edge deletion machine, comprising: a machine base including front and rear ends; a feeing mechanism extending through said front and rear ends of said machine base, with said feeding mechanism including a plurality of rollers rotatably mounted in said machine base and adapted for carrying a solar panel from said front end of said machine base to said rear end of said machine base; a positioning mechanism mounted in said machine base, with said positioning mechanism including a positioning frame and a plurality of air cylinders mounted around said positioning frame, with a baffle rod connected to a front end of each of said air cylinders for holding said solar panel fed into said machine base in position; and a plurality of spray gun sets mounted in said machine base and around said positioning frame of said positioning mechanism, with each of said spray gun sets including a sliding rail, a sliding holder coupled to and movable along said sliding rail, a shield fastened to a distal end of said sliding holder and having an opening for receiving an edge region of said solar panel fed into said machine base, a spray gun suspending above said opening and controllable to spray sands toward said edge region of said solar panel, and an air duct connected to a rear end of said shield and adapted for guiding sands discharged by said spray gun and dust out of an inside space of said shield.
 2. The solar panel edge deletion machine according to claim 1, with said spray gun sets being mounted on peripheral inner walls of said machine base, and with said baffle rods being rotatable within 90 degrees by driving of the air cylinders to hold said solar panel fed into said machine base in position. 